June 15/10 9:27 am - Tour de Beauce: Stage 1 UPDATES

This year there are a lot of TbB newbies, riders who have never ridden the race before, so it should be interesting how things progress over the days ahead.

It is a beautiful sunny day, ~ 15 degrees with just a bit of wind

We will try to bring you regular updates throughout the stage, but cell coverage is limited in the area - corrections ROGERS cell coverage is very limited, Bell has great coverage it seems, but CC is a ROGERS customer :-(

9:48 am

At 5 km former winner Nathan O'Neill (Bahati Foundation) had a front flat and is now chasing back up

There are lots of attacks but nothing is sticking - the wind has picked up and they are heading right into it

9:55 am

O'Neill is back in the bunch, which is still all together. Too windy for even a small group to get away

10:10 am

They are into the climbs now

Harm Bronkhorst (Global Cycling Team) Rafael Serrano Fernandez (Heraklio-Murcia) wins the first KOM and now has a gap of 20 sec on the peloton - the official start list (published on Friday) changed last night

10:20 am

Now there is a group of 5 away with a gap of 20 sec on the peloton

10:30 am

There is now a group of 20 17 in the break. and some of them are:

Benjamin Day, Jay Thomson and David Tanner (Fly V)

John Murphy (BMC Racing Team (BMC))

Marc DeMaar and Andrew Pinfold (Unitedhealthcare p/b Maxxis)

Valeriy Kobzarenko and Michael Creed (Team Type 1)

Ryan Roth, Lucas Euser and David Boily (Spidertech p/b Planet Energy)

Rafael Serrano Fernandez (Heraklio-Murcia)

Sergy Grechyn (Amore & Vita -Conad)

Will Routley (Canada)

André Tremblay (Quebec)

10:45 am

At 50 km in the gap is now 55 sec

10:57 am

The Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23 team has taken up the chase and the gap, which had been just over 1 min, is starting to shrink

11:05am

Peloton going through Ste Justine ~ 65 km into stage

11:15 am

All back together again

11:30 am

It appears not all riders in the break were caught. There is still a small number of ridersaway: Routley, Serrano Fernandez and Thomson and they have over 2 min on the peloton. Danny Summerhill (Felt-Holowesko Partners-Garmin U23) is chasing at 1 min behind the leaders. They have just passed through Saint-Camille-de- Bellechasse (77.6 km) and will make the trun onto HWY 281

11:56 am

Through the feedzone at 89.8 km. The 3 are still away and Summerhill is still chasing on his own

12:43 pm

Sorry for no updates. There is no radio or cell reception in the area that the riders are in now

12:48 pm

Back in cell/radio range now

A bad crash on a gravel section at 65 km to go. Alexander Kristoff (BMC) and Jamie Ball (DMC) Matthew Bell (Team Canada) both went down hard.

50 km to go for the lead bunch of 3 who are still away and working well. The gap to the peloton is 4:30 and BMC is at the front chasing

1:00 pm

40 km to go and no change. Downhill for the next few km

1:10 pm

25 km to go and the gap is 4:55. They will start to climb now, so maybe the gap will close

1:13 pm

And the gap is starting to fall - already down to 4:30.

1:24 pm

15 km to go and the gap is now under 3 min

1:28 pm

Rafael Serrano Fernandez (Heraklio-Murcia) has attacked

Final

Rafael Serrano Fernandez (Heraklio-Murcia) managed to stay away and take the win by 5 seconds over Sergy Grechyn (Amore & Vita -Conad) and Charles Dionne (Fly V) came in for 3rd

Matt Bell (who crashed on the gravel - NOT Jamie Ball as previously reported) has been taken to hospital with a suspected concussion

Serrano Fernandez now takes the Yellow leaders jersey, the Climbers jersey, the Sprint jersey and the Young rider jersey